Info for Beginners

There is something magical about taking a box full of balsa wood and turning it into a working, flying model, a model that uses the same physics to fly as full size airplanes.  It brings with it great personal satisfaction in seeing your handiwork actually take to the air and fly as it was designed to do and then return safely to the ground.  There are no hidden secrets to flying radio controlled (R/C) airplanes, just patience and proper instruction.  If you can drive a car, there is no reason for you not to be able to fly a model airplane.
Here we will present some basic information to get you going.

Usually, the first questions model flyers are asked are: How much does it cost, and how far is the range of the plane?

  The cost can range a fair bit depending on how much do you want to spend and how fancy an outfit you want.  The three most basic parts would be A) the model plane itself, B) the engine and C) the radio equipment.

The Plane

To start with you will need to purchase a basic trainer plane and not your favorite WW II fighter with retractable landing gear!  We all had to start somewhere and it was with a trainer, which is usually a high wing plane designed to be stable and fairly rugged.  Models today will usually fit into two categories:
Kit form where you buy a kit and build it according to the included instructions and plans and the ARF (Almost ready to fly) version. 
It used to be that the ARF's were not always a good buy due to poor construction and materials but that vastly improved over the years and today a name brand ARF is made to very good standards. A typical ARF will only take a few evenings to complete whereas a kit will take considerably longer.  The advantage to an ARF is that you will be in the air much quicker than building a kit, and that you will not have as much emotional attachment to your first plane if it happens to have an "oopsie."  The down side to an ARF is that your building skills and knowledge of how the place is constructed will be very limited if repairs are needed at some time.  A kit will teach you much about the building and engineering of an R/C plane.  Either way it is your personal preference.  When you consider the cost of building and covering a model, some ARF's are very appealing such as the SIG LT40.  In kit form it is approximately $139.00 and in ARF form it is $199.00!

One more thing, bigger not only flies better, it is easier to see.  A model starts to get pretty small in a hurry if you just let it fly away on it's own.

The Engine  

There are two types of engines, two strokes and four strokes.  For a beginner, it would be easier to start with a two stroke, as they are easy to start and operate and have great power to weight ratio.  As usual, you get what you pay for and if you can afford a little more it will most likely pay off in reliability and durability.  OS, Irvine , Supertigre have had good reputations and are recommended.  An engine for a trainer plane would cost you about $150.00  

The Radio

This is where you can spend a lot of money very fast!  Radio's are categorized by how many channels they have (the more channels the more functions they can do) and if they are computerized or not.  A computerized radio has many functions such as remembering settings for different

airplanes, have built in timers and many more features that would be too lengthy to discuss here.  If you plan to stay in the hobby and own more than one model then a computer radio would be a better choice though the initial cost is higher.  A basic radio system will cost you about $250.00 and for a good computer radio about $350.00 and up.  As far as range, your R/C plane will be out of  sight before the range of the radio system is maxed out which is about a mile and a half.

Other Gear

There is support equipment that you will need, such as a glow starter (to get the engine going), fuel, propellers,  paper towel and glass cleaner for clean up as well as other misc items.  A great source of help is your local hobby shop and club members.  As mentioned above, we all started somewhere and all received much help from those who have already learnt so do not be afraid to ask questions as there are plenty of folks willing to give advice and a lending hand.  

This page was last revised on: December 16, 2005